Inquest: Kahui twins were 'suspiciously settled'

The Kahui twins were 'suspiciously settled' after their mother Macsyna King left the house, the inquest into their deaths has heard. Photo / Dean Purcell.

The Kahui twins were "suspiciously settled" after their mother Macsyna King left the house, an inquest has heard.

Chris Kahui's lawyer, Michele Wilkinson-Smith has been cross-examining a panel of medical experts at the inquest into the death of baby Chris and Cru.

She said none of the four adults in the house reported hearing the babies cry out for a feed that evening.

Mrs Wilkinson-Smith asked: "Are the babies not suspiciously settled after the mother leaves the house?"

The lawyer for the police, Simon Mount, objected to the question.

Paediatrician Dr Terence Donald answered Mrs Wilkinson-Smith's rephrased question about nobody hearing the babies crying despite the twins going without food for a long period of time.

"I think Dr Kelly has summarised it well. Six to eight hours would be a maximum time you would expect them not to wake up."

Star Ship hospital paediatrician Dr Patrick Kelly said a lack of crying could depend on a number of variables, including the normal crying behaviour of the twins and how much other noise was in the house.

"There are all sorts of issues that make it very difficult to be certain... If your question is: 'could they be unconscious?' Yes they could."

All the experts agreed that the fatal injuries must have occurred after their last normal feed.

The issue of the timing is crucial to the case.

Mr Kahui had originally told police that he had fed the twins later that night but told the inquest last year that they had not fed properly.

The twins died of head injuries in Auckland's Starship Hospital in 2006 and their father, Chris Kahui, was acquitted of their murders in May 2008.

His defence claimed that the injuries were caused by their mother, Macsyna King, who denied the killings.

Yesterday Professor Carole Jenny, from Brown University in Rhode Island, said the twins' prospects would have been much better if Mr Kahui had acted swiftly to seek medical attention.

Mr Kahui had performed CPR on Cru after finding him with blue lips.

But he did not take the twins to hospital until the next day.

This could have made a huge difference in their chance for survival, she said.

Prof Jenny was one of four pathology and paediatrics specialists giving evidence at the inquest into the deaths of the twins. The inquest resumed in Auckland today after a break of seven months.

The twins had difficulty feeding, which would indicate they had suffered brain damage, Prof Jenny told the inquest.

She was horrified nobody had noticed Cru's leg fracture, which would have caused him intense pain.

"Cru had tears in the cortex of his brain, and I can't imagine he would have been able to feed. He would not have cried normally either.

"Nobody noticed there was something horribly wrong as his leg was displaced," she said.

Both twins also showed signs of dehydration when they died, she added.

Prof Jenny said she found it quite "mystifying" that nobody seemed concerned the twins had not eaten for hours.

She said any baby who did not wake to feed in 12 to 15 hours should have alarmed their caregiver.

The nature of their brain injuries meant they would have been incapable of feeding in the usual way, Prof Jenny said.

Another expert, Dr Patrick Kelly, from Starship Hospital, told the inquest the twins died of severe head injuries which were not accidental.

"There is no other medical explanation to explain how they sustained traumatic brain injuries.

"Both twins were likely slammed against something. Their brain injuries were so severe they would have both collapsed into unconsciousness very soon after," Dr Kelly said.

The force to the twins' heads involved impact, he added.

The effect of the injuries on both twins would have been immediate and obvious, although he did not know if they were injured at the same time.

Coroner Garry Evans is expected to hear more evidence this week from family members, as well as child abuse experts.